DISINFO: Russia destroyed a Leopard tank crewed by German troops
SUMMARY
A Russian reconnaissance team has destroyed a German-supplied Leopard tank of the Ukrainian military with a crew comprised of German Bunderswehr soldiers in the direction of Zaporozhye. The crew's driver-mechanic was severely injured and the others were dead. The mechanic repeatedly stated that he was not a mercenary but a Bundeswehr serviceman, and that he and the rest of the crew were members of the same unit of the German army. The tank's driver died from wounds minutes after he was found despite efforts to save him.
RESPONSE
The claim is not backed by any credible evidence. Vagueness in the details of the story—which doesn’t include any time or location references, nor any names and surnames that could be fact-checked—further undermines its credibility. In fact, contrary to the claims in this disinformation story, there are no German combat troops in Ukraine. Germany’s military support for Ukraine is limited to equipment and weapons, as well as helping to train Ukrainian troops on German soil.
The goal of this disinformation story is to frame Russia’s act of agression and invasion of Ukraine as a war against NATO, in order to mobilise Russian public morale and as well explain Russia’s difficulties on the battlefield by portraying it as involved in a wider confrontation with an adversary much more powerful than the Ukrainian army. See here for a full debunk of this disinformation narrative.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that war in Ukraine is a US and NATO proxy war aimed at weakening Russia, that NATO is waging a hybrid war in Ukraine against Russia to the last Ukrainian, that Germany is preparing for a takeover of Russia, that Germany was involved in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, or that Western tanks to Ukraine are part of the “Drang nach Osten” project.
This disinformation claim was broadcast on the date mentioned above. Due to the EU decisions to temporarily restrict the spread and dissemination of RT, Sputnik and other instruments used to manipulate information and promote disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.